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Agent Coulson drops in on KCRW’s ‘Guest DJ Project’

If you ever wondered how actor Clark Gregg prepared himself for Agent Coulson’s death scene — or, rather, “death” scene — in The Avengers, you only need to listen to KCRW’s “Guest DJ Project.” Hint: It’s music, but any additional information is probably above your clearance level.

For this week’s episode of the Los Angeles radio show, the star of Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. compiles a track list that includes Parliament-Funkadelic’s “Give Up the Funk (Tear the Roof Off the Sucker),” Public Enemy’s “Caught, Can We Get a Witness” and Radiohead’s “Go to Sleep.”

“I find that when I have powerful or emotional scenes, that really the kind of doorway into that stuff is a playlist,” he explains. “And I have one called ‘Dropping In’ on my phone that I have to get some headphones that really fill my ears and blast some stuff, but there’s a really eclectic mix. When we were shooting The Avengers and poor Coulson was being killed off, I was such a blubbering mess. Joss Whedon came over and he said, ‘I got to know what’s on that playlist,’ and I said, ‘Sorry, it’s completely confidential.'”

Gregg, who made his directorial debut with a well-received 2008 adaptation of Chuck Palahniuk novel Choke, is promoting his latest effort (which he also wrote and stars in) Trust Me. You can listen to his 10-minute set on the KCRW website.